Back when I first got back into comics, I had this crazy idea in my head that I absolutely had to learn as many of the inner working of the DCU as possible because I was fascinated by a world of characters existing among each other and having their own books but still being part of a bigger picture, such as the Justice League or one of the event books. I mean, Marvel could do it… so why not DC? My friends said I was crazy and after trying to make sense of Infinite Crisis, 52 and then Final Crisis, I came to the conclusion that it was impossible to comfortably understand the DCU and it’s 52 worlds.

DC’s now looking to change that a bit.

Beginning in September of this year, DC will be shutting down the DC Universe as we know it and giving every single book, to the best of my knowledge, a relaunch and a fresh start back at #1. More importantly, we’re being told that there will be a much more definitive continuity between books that comes and goes quite often in DC books today.

With entirely new creative teams having now been announced as well as a ton of Jim Lee designed character/costume changes, it looks like the company is swinging for the fences in hopes of turning around the slump they’ve been in over the past nine years having been outsold by Marvel overall since 2002.

All the plans sound pretty interesting but the main concern that many people have is the status of stories that were told before the upcoming relaunch. Will they mean anything? With a new Nightwing book in the works, I’d have to imagine that Grant Morrison’s grand Batman scheme is going to be ending. Rumor has it that Superman will be ditching Lois Lane for Wonder Woman which will more than likely tick a lot of people off. Apparently Barbara Gordon will be tossing on her old Batgirl threads when that new book launches so what happens to Stephanie Brown?

Clearly there are far more questions that answers at this point but it’s a bold move nonetheless and one that has already generated a pretty good buzz among comic fans and retailers alike, some good and some bad but the biggest thing to remember in this is that it’s all about bringing in new readers and satisfying old readers by delivering quality stories that bring people back month after month. With comics in a pretty rough spot in terms of overall sales, it’s commendable to see DC trying to do what they can to spark some interest and bring in some new fans both through the traditional printed books as well as through digital comics that will be launching the same day that the books arrive in local stores as well.

It’s rare to see a company make such a drastic change all at once but it should certainly say something about the current team of people driving the boat over at DC. Whether or not this will pay off for the company as well as how this will affect sales from now until the relaunch goes down remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts? Is a DC relaunch just what the company needs? What books do you feel deserve to survive to see the new DCU? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Tweet